Shortly after checking out Whytecliff, we went to Porteau cove for the first time. The difference in dive sites after only 20 minutes drive on the highway was amazing. We blundered around on the surface a bit trying to surface swim against a surface current before we wised up and dropped down to the shallow bottom to swim out to the dive site. A shoddy compass led us astray some more, but we eventually found the pipe reef and spent the rest of the dive poking around there. Tonnes of shrimp were out that day, and they weren’t very skittish, making it easy to take plenty of macro photos. More photos below…
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After moving to Vancouver and unpacking the essentials (dive gear), our first dive trip was to Whyetcliff. We swam out along Whyte Islet during high slack tide. There was definitely a lot to see considering the lake diving that up to that point had made up most of our diving experience.
Still relatively new to underwater photography, I surprised myself by getting a few good shots of the marine life. All in all a good dive, and a nice way to settle into our new home on the Emerald Sea.
Click below to see the full gallery!
Lake Minnewanka offers some interesting things to see for a lake, including a 1912 Dam as mentioned in a previous post. Here’s a video of us swimming through the blockhouse.
In August ’09, when we were still Albertans, we took a dive trip down to Lake Minnewanka in Banff, to dive the old bridge and old dam.
This was the first dive trying out not only my new camera (Powershot G10), but also trying out the Fantasea Bigeye “wide angle” lense. The lense did flare a bit, and I had a lot of growing pains with my new camera (and underwater photography in General), but I think I got some cool photos. To the left
In 1941, a third dam was built in Lake Minnewanka, flooding the old townsite, the old bridge, and the 1912 dam. (which itself flooded the 1895 dam). Only bridge pilings remain from the bridge, but a lot of the 1912 dam is almost like it was when it flooded, with a maximum depth of about 90-100 feet.. All in all a great set of dives. Definite proof that lake diving in Alberta does have a lot to offer!
More info on Lake Minnewanka: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/natcul/natcul4m1.aspx
One of my good buddies happened to be out getting certified in Minnewanka that weekend as well. Although we didn’t get to dive together, he enjoyed his cert dives, and got to check out the top portion of the Dam. Not bad for certification dives in Alberta! More pictures are below. There’s a lot of photos, which were taken over three dives.